Your Voice Was My Wake-Up Call
by thecoleaderofgroupb
Summary: AU: To him, Valentine's Day was just another busy day meeting his advisor for thesis prep, catching up on the week's assignments, and working a full shift at the nearby coffee shop to pay the bills. "What's your strongest brew ya got?" the blonde asked him with a warm accent. New guy obviously, he thought as he looked up and locked eyes with the blonde. Yup this shank's new.


**Notes**: First one-shot up in a series of Valentine's themed TMR fictions. This is the first time I've tried writing about this pair. George is the name of the second Glader who came up in The Box that Alby was forced to kill after he got stung. (This is based on _The Maze Runner_ comic that was given with the Blu-ray/DVD pack.) Dedicated to subjectalby on tumblr.

* * *

At 7:05 AM, his alarm beeped loudly until he slid a hand out from under the quilt and smacked the top of it hard. He groaned as he ran a hand across his face before stretching his arms out and throwing back the covers. Sleeping in was a luxury he wouldn't be getting any time soon with his undergrad thesis due date rapidly approaching and the pressure to find a job or internship after he graduated.

"Shuck, what day is it?" Alby groaned as he picked up his phone and pressed the center button to bring up the lock screen. "Saturday? Aww shuck!"

He opened his drawers and pulled out a plain button-down, clean dress slacks, and underwear before heading to the shower. He checked his phone's screen, which prompted him with 2 reminders:

_8:30 AM Meet with advisor about senior thesis_

_10 AM – 8PM Triple shift at The Glade Café_

* * *

"Good morning Alby," Dr. Paige greeted him as he came into her office. "You're up early for a Saturday."

"Thought it would be best to get it out of the way," Alby replied as he took a seat across from her. He began pulling out his research on leadership and how evolution sought to find a strong, ideal leader that others would follow and respect for an extended period of time.

Dr. Paige shot him a knowing look before adding, "Valentine's Day plans?"

Alby jerked his head up at that comment and frowned. "Is it Valentine's Day today? Sorry Doctor, I forgot – this semester has been a blur for me and holidays are kind of…nonexistent in my mind."

Dr. Paige waved it off and folded her hands on her desk. "So what do you have for me to review?"

Alby slid a draft of his research paper which was about ¾ of the way complete, save for a few footnotes that needed to be added and a cleaner conclusion that he needed to work on, across the desk to her. Dr. Paige picked up the thesis draft and began to read through it. She pulled a pen out from the cup on her desk and began marking up areas where Alby needed to correct sentences or format errors.

"I'm just checking for format and structure for now," Dr. Paige explained as she flipped to the sixth page of the paper. "Did you need to cover anything else?"

Alby thought about it for a moment before saying that was all. "Can I meet with you later next week about your comments on the content of my research?"

Dr. Paige looked up from marking his draft and logged onto her computer to pull up her schedule. She clicked on the calendar and scanned for her availability. "I'm afraid I only have Thursday at noon available – hate to make you meet over lunch, unless you're okay with that?"

Alby checked his schedule for Thursday on his phone and replied that Thursday at noon was fine. "I just need to wrap up by 2:15 PM because that's when I have to run to work for my shift," he said as he dragged his finger down on the screen to read his Thursday schedule.

"I think that should be plenty of time to discuss your draft," Dr. Paige said as she typed Alby's name into her calendar for Thursday at noon. She clicked Save and turned back to face him. "Hopefully you'll get to sleep in today after an early start."

Alby shook his head no as he began packing up his research materials and notes into his bag. "I'm working all day," he replied as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. "Manager's sick so I offered to take on a triple shift for today."

Dr. Paige looked up from editing his draft with wide blue eyes. "Goodness! That is a long day," she mused as she set her pen down. "You know, I think it's wonderful that you work so hard Alby, but I hope you do take some time out to relax once in a while."

"I do," Alby promised as he stood up and pushed in the chair. "I just like keeping busy – keeps me from turning into a Crank, ya know?"

Dr. Paige nodded and stood up from her desk so she could walk Alby out. "Thank you for bringing me your draft – I'll take a closer look at it before Thursday. Hope you have a great Saturday."

"Thanks Dr. Paige," Alby said as he left her office. He checked his watch and saw that it was only 8:49 AM. He wasted no time before descending the steps of the Psychology department building and making a beeline for the library to work on the assignments for his other classes.

* * *

"Hey Admiral! Didn't know you were working today," Minho greeted him as Alby tied his apron around his waist.

"Will you slim it with the 'admiral' thing?" Alby groaned as he began grinding coffee beans for the café's trademark roast.

Minho shrugged as he leaned against the counter, his biceps rippling under the tight, rolled sleeves of his button-down. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked as he added, "Oh sorry Presidente. Nah actually General might be better for ya. Maybe–"

"Slim it slinthead!" Alby snapped as he drowned out Minho's voice with the loud wail of the coffee bean grinder.

Minho grinned playfully as he moved away from the counter and began to set out the chairs and umbrellas for the outdoor seating area. He flipped the sign on the door to Open and dusted his hands off before heading to the Stock Room to grab the flavored syrups.

Alby shook his head and sighed as he dumped the fresh coffee grounds into the coffee machine and pressed the button to start the first batch of the day.

"Where do we keep the markers for the board?" Minho yelled from the Stock Room.

"Second drawer to the left of the beans," Alby called out. "Don't forget to add the Valentine's Day specials or else the manager will kill us when he gets back."

"Who, that Rat-face? Nah I ain't scared of him," Minho crowed as he hauled the sandwich board out of the back and kicked open the front door.

"Of all days…" Alby grumbled as he started grinding beans for the decaf coffee. He didn't hate working with Minho – actually, the shank was one of his close friends, but sometimes his attitude and the café dynamic didn't mix. It was a known fact that their manager hated Minho and the latter likewise. How the shank hadn't gotten fired was a mystery but Alby sensed it had something to do with the fact that many girls and an occasional guy might frequent the café because they found Minho cute, which in turn, generated revenue.

* * *

"Can I get you anything else?" Minho asked the girl who was digging around for her card.

The girl looked up and grinned widely as she stared at Minho through dark lashes. "Maybe a kiss from the cute barista waiting on me?"

Minho turned his head and coughed, color flooding into his cheeks. Alby snickered from behind the steaming machine and ignored Minho's death glare as he pulled off the pitcher containing the skim milk for the latte he was making. He added a white chocolate drizzle on top, complete with heart-shaped sprinkles.

"One small white chocolate latte with skim for Sonya," he called out as he slid the cup to the window.

A redhead with fair skin and a shower of freckles across her face came up and thanked him before grabbing a sleeve to put around the cup.

"…here's your card and it will be out over at that window!" Minho told the girl at the counter, almost a little too loudly.

The girl blinked and shot Minho a sour look before putting her card away and walking over to the drink window where Alby was. Alby checked the receipt that Minho put on the machine and began heating up dark chocolate for the café's dark hot chocolate. He cast a look at Minho who had straightened up and was taking the order of a tall guy with brown hair and whiskey colored eyes. Alby chuckled as he mixed whole milk with the dark chocolate, stirring the mixture until it was the consistency that he wanted. He added whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top before securing a lid on top of the cup.

"Dark Hot Chocolate with extra sprinkles for Brenda?" Alby called out as he slid the cup onto the counter.

Brenda came up and picked up her cup, winking at Alby before walking out of the café with a smile on her face. He politely returned the smile before focusing on the next order. She was pretty but maybe a little too forward for his liking. Besides, his last relationship with Harriet went down in flames pretty quickly – they had clashing schedules and it resulted in a lot of fights about not being there for each other. After a while, things had cooled down and they agreed it was better if they were just friends. He watched Minho wait on the current guy out of the corner of his eye as he prepared a tea latte for another customer.

"Aww man Shank," Minho said as he filled a cup with the café's signature brew. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were making me drunk just by looking into those whiskey eyes of yours."

"Sorry wha?" the guy asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't pretend you weren't checkin' out these bad boys here," Minho boasted as he flexed his arms. "Well here's your coffee – anything else?"

"Um no, I uh, I think that's all," the guy said as he handed over a few singles for the coffee.

Minho punched in the order and gave back the change to the guy, who ended up putting all of it into the tip jar. "Thanks – come back again!" Minho called out after the guy.

"Eager aren't ya," Alby mused as he pulled down a few tea bags from a shelf to brew tea for a customer's iced tea drink. "Surprised ya didn't just try to slip the guy your number."

"Wanted to but kinda got nervous," Minho sighed as he stared after the guy, who was crossing the street. "Ah shuck, hope he comes back."

"Probably will slinthead, he probably will," Alby said as he clapped a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day to us," Gally said with a sarcastic look on his face as he knotted the ends of his apron. He waved at Minho who was sliding his jacket onto his shoulders and leaving through the employee door.

"You had plans?" Alby asked as he wiped down a few tables. It was quiet now – most of the patrons came either in the morning or in the early afternoon. He was relieved that it was quiet now – the morning seemed extra hectic today.

Gally nodded as he broke a new roll of quarters into the drawer and tapped the contents into the compartment. "Ben and I were supposed to be taking one of those Painting and Wine/Beer classes tonight but he got sick with the flu and I got stuck with this shift because George got hospitalized for appendicitis."

"That's gotta be Hell for George," Alby mused as he sprayed a table with cleaning solution. He wiped the surface with a cleaning rag and pushed the chairs in. He looked around the practically empty café and studied the pastry display. They were low on brownies and sugar cookies, which were very popular choices.

"Hey Gal, can you pop a few extra cookies and brownies into the oven in the back?" Alby asked as he headed to the supply closet to put away the cleaning supplies.

Gally nodded before shutting the drawer and shuffling to the back of the café to prep the items for the case. Alby washed his hands in the sink near the steamer and dried them on a towel before walking to the register. A few customers came in at that moment and Alby noticed that the guy that Minho had hit on had come back with a girl with blue eyes and dark hair.

"Hi, welcome to The Glade Café, what can I get started for you?" Alby asked as they approached the register.

The girl nudged the guy with her elbow and Alby noticed that the guy was starting to turn red. She rolled her eyes at him before addressing Alby. "Hi, my cousin was in here earlier in the day and he was hoping that the Asian guy who waited on him was still here."

"Ya just missed him about 5 minutes ago," Alby said as he nodded at the door. "Why? You got a message for him?"

The girl looked over at her cousin who cleared his throat and said, "Um yeah, uh I wanted to um, ya know…"

Alby pressed a button on the register and the machine spit out some blank receipt paper. He tore it off and scribbled Minho's cell down before passing it to the guy. "Call him – he was interested in seeing ya again," Alby said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, did ya want something?"

The girl nodded as she stepped forward, pulling out a $20 from her pocket. "I'd like a strawberry dark hot chocolate with no whipped cream please. Thomas, you want anything?"

"Just a small cup of The Glade Roast please," Thomas said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

The girl gave Alby the money and he counted out the change before handing it over with her receipt. She took a few dollar bills and put them into the tip jar.

"Thanks, that will be out in a bit," Alby said as he grabbed a small cup and filled it with The Glade Roast for Thomas. He slid the cup across the counter to Thomas, who thanked him as he picked it up and took a small sip.

Gally emerged from the back with a tray filled with fresh brownies and cookies. He slid open the case and started putting them in their respective rows in the display. Alby began pureeing strawberries and added some melted dark chocolate and whole milk to the concoction. Once the mixture was blended, Alby put it into a cup and put it into the steamer to heat it up again.

"Did you want sprinkles?" Alby asked the girl.

She shook her head no and Alby pulled the cup from the steamer, placing a lid securely on top. "Here you go. Enjoy."

"Thanks," the girl said as she shepherded her cousin out the door. Alby shook his head as he watched Thomas stare at the paper with Minho's number on it and he chuckled lightly. "Those slintheads…"

"Another boytoy for Minho?" Gally asked as he closed the case.

"Maybe," Alby said as he cleaned the steamer probes. "Can you brew some more tea?"

"Sure," Gally said as he put the tray down on a counter in the back. He walked over to the coffee dispensers and checked them. "We could use a fresh brew on both decaf and signature."

"I got those," Alby said as he tossed the old grinds and filters into the trash. He began grinding fresh beans for the signature roast when the door opened to the café. He added a new filter and the freshly ground beans to the coffee dispenser and pressed a button for it to start brewing.

"Give me just a minute, okay?" he said as he prepared the beans for the decaf.

"No rush Shank," a warm accented voice replied.

Alby ground the beans and added everything to the decaf side of the machine before pressing a button to start it. "Can I answer any questions?" Alby asked as he wiped his hands on his apron before turning to the register.

"What's the strongest brew ya got?" the voice asked.

_New guy obviously_, he thought as he looked up. He had waited on a lot of customers while doing this job and he had only met a few students from the UK. They only came to this café once after they declared that they would rather go to Starbucks and earn rewards. Whatever. He looked up to see a blonde guy with dark eyes running a hand through his longish hair, which made it stick up in random directions. _Yup this shank's new._

"Hi welcome," Alby greeted the guy as he rested his hands on the counter. "We offer two strong varieties – one's the Scorch Desert Delight which has a smoky flavor to it or there's the Griever Greenbean which is a bit bitter but more earthy. Any of those sound good to you?"

The guy looked past Alby and pointed to The Glade Roast. "How's that in comparison to the others ya mentioned?"

"It's strong but not as strong as the others," Alby said. "I'd say that's our third strongest brew – it's a favorite here and our signature roast. Do you um, want to sample them?"

"I can do that?" the blonde asked as he stared in amazement at Alby.

Alby nodded as he fished out 3 sample cups and poured small amounts of all three into them. His manager would probably kill him, especially since they only used the sample cups for new products or ones that were the specials of the day but who the shuck cared? He'd deal with the repercussions later.

"This one's the Griever Greenbean," Alby said as he passed over the first cup. He watched as the blonde took a sip from the cup and made a face before setting the cup down. "Yeah that is bloody bitter."

"It's…an acquired taste. Not my favorite. Um, here's the Scorch Desert Delight," Alby said as he pushed the cup across the counter. His fingers lingered a little longer than usual on the cup and the blonde accidentally brushed his fingers against Alby's.

"Sorry Shank," the blonde apologized as he picked up the cup.

Alby moved his fingers away and mumbled that it wasn't a big deal. The blonde took a sip of the Scorch Desert Delight, looked thoughtful for a few moments, and took another sip. Alby pushed the last cup over and the blonde tried The Glade Roast. The blonde pursed his lips as he stared at both cups in his hands and went back and forth, looking at each one.

"Uhhhh…right then," the blonde said as he set the cups down. "How about I take a medium cup of the Scorch Desert Delight? Oh and how are your brownies?"

"They're freshly made every day," Alby said as he leaned on the counter. "Ya wanna add one?"

The blonde stared over at the counter and stared over at the display. "Ya know what? Yeah I'll get one of those too. But…only if I can split it with ya."

Alby felt his ears get warm and he locked eyes with the blonde. Was this Shank…flirting with him? "I'm sorry, what was that last part?"

"I said I'd like a brownie if I can split it with ya, ya bugging Shank," the blonde said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Ya get breaks right?"

"Yeah," Alby said as he punched in the order. "Um that will be –"

"I got it," Gally said as he stepped in and accepted the money from the blonde. "This Shank's right, when was the last time you took a break?"

"Uh I think around 1 for lunch?" Alby said as he tried to recall.

Gally shook his head and pretended to look cross. "Unacceptable. I order you to go take a 30 minute break – you're working a triple shift Shank and ya need to take breaks."

"Triple shift?!" the blonde asked with wide eyes. "Wow, that is long! Ya always work long hours?"

"No, not usually," Alby said as he beat Gally to handing back the change to the blonde. "I'll have that coffee and brownie out shortly…"

"Newt," the blonde replied. "Name's Newt, nice to meet ya Alby."

"Same," Alby said as he grabbed a mug for the coffee and filled it up. He grabbed a plate for the brownie and placed it in the center, carrying both over to the table that Newt was sitting at in the corner. Gally wiggled his eyebrows at Alby, who ignored it while he placed the mug and plate on the table.

"Thanks," Newt said as he picked up the brownie and broke off a piece. He put it in his mouth and smiled. "Pretty good. Same goes for the coffee – was worried that I was gonna get another watered down version like some of the other places around here."

"Nope not here," Alby said as he leaned back in his chair. "Are ya new to the area?"

"Yeah I'm a transfer," Newt said as he took a sip from the mug. He pushed the brownie towards Alby and Alby broke off a piece to eat.

"WICKED Institute?"

"Ya that's the place," Newt said as he put the mug down. "I was studying Sports Medicine but decided to change my major to Environmental Studies with an emphasis on green technology. What about you?"

"Psychology and a minor in Leadership," Alby said as he broke off another piece of the brownie. He studied Newt as he chewed the brownie piece. He was scruffy in a cute way if that made sense. His hair was messy and sticking up in multiple directions. His clothes had a baggy look to them, probably due to the fact that he had a slender build.

"Ya doin' anything tonight?" Newt asked as he broke off a large piece of the brownie.

Alby tilted his head and shot Newt a small smile. "Ya asking me out or something Shank?"

Newt shrugged as he finished his coffee. "Maybe…ya seem like an interesting Shank and the coffee was really good so…"

Alby sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was now wishing he hadn't agreed to work for the full café hours, especially since that meant Newt would have to wait 2.5 more hours until he was done for the day. _What a great impression I'm making_, Alby thought.

"Something wrong?" Newt asked as the smile faded from his face. "Too soon? Cause if I'm rushing this, ya just need to bloody tell me."

"No, no, it's not that," Alby sighed. "I uh, I'm working until 8 PM tonight cause that's what I signed on for. Might be later because we gotta close up."

"I can close up Alby," Gally called out from behind the counter. He straightened up and fixed his apron. "It's no big deal – not like I haven't done it a million times before."

Alby sighed as he ran a hand across his face. "I wish Gal, but Janson's gonna have my shuckbutt if I'm not the one handing over the keys tomorrow."

"I can wait," Newt said with a shrug. He glanced over at the coffee dispensers and looked back at Alby with a crooked smile. "Any chance I can get a refill while I wait?"


End file.
